The Duke Of Earl

NVD2-712 GENE CHANDLER -“The Duke Of Earl” veejay

GENE CHANDLER - “The Duke Of Earl”

1. DUKE OF EARL 2:26
(Williams-Dixon-Edwards)

Vee-Jay 416* LP 1040f Billboard #1 R&B,#1 popff

2. STAND BY ME 2:23
(King- Leiber- Stroller)

Vee-Jay LP 1040f

3. FESTIVAL OF LOVE 2:27
(B. Williams)

Vee-Jay LP 1040f

4. DADDY’S HOME 2:32
(Sheppard- Bassett- Baskerville)

Vee-Jay 450* LP 1040f

5. I WAKE UP CRYING 2:35

(Bacharach- David)

Vee-Jay LP 1040f

6. TURN ON YOUR LOVE LIGHT 2:1 7

(Malone-Scott)

Vee-Jay LP 1040f

7. NITE OWL 2:25
(B. Williams)

Vee-Jay LP 1040f

8. I’LL FOLLOW YOU 2:23

(Turk-Alhert)

Vee-Jay 455* LP 1040f

9. THE BIG LIE 2:32
(B. Williams)

Vee-Jay 450* LP 1040f

10. KISSIN’ IN THE KITCHEN 2:25
(B. Williams)

Vee-Jay 41 6* LP 1 040f

11. SO MANY WAYS 2:40

(B. Stevenson)

Vee-Jay LP 1040f

12. LONELY ISLAND 1:45

(Ahbez)

Vee-Jay LP 1040f

13. WALK ON WITH THE DUKE 2:03

(Finzio-Pirollo-Spano-Nahan-Pesta-Carter)
Vee-Jay 440*

14. LONDON TOWN 2:28

Vee-Jay 440*

15. YOU LEFT ME 2:17

Vee-Jay 455*

16. FORGIVE ME 2:21

Vee-Jay 51 1 *

17. RAINBOW 2:23

(C. Mayfield)

Vee-Jay 468* #11 R&B, #71 popff

18. MIRACLE AFTER MIRACLE 2:29

Vee-Jay 461 *

19. YOU THREW A LUCKY PUNCH 2:34
(W. Robinson-R. White-D. Covay)

Vee-Jay 468* #25 R&B, #49 popff

20. DAY TO DAY 2:35

Previously unissued

21. CHECK YOURSELF 2:51

Vee-Jay 51 1 *

22. BABY THAT’S LOVE 2:50

Vee-Jay 536*

23. MAN’S TEMPTATION 2:43

(C. Mayfield)

Vee-Jay 536* #17 R&B, #71 popft

TOTAL TIME 57:00

(Rounded to the nearest minute)

For more information write to:
Vee-Jay Limited Partnership

P.0. Box 1500

Radio City Station

New York, NY 10101-1500

(VEEJAY)

® © 1993 Vee-Jay Limited Partnership. All Rights Reserved

Original sessions produced by
Bill Sheppard or Calvin Carter

Series supervision by Billy Vera

Digital transfers and remix
by Gordon Skene

Digital remastering by Bob Fisher
of Digital Domain

Art Direction by Matthew Eberhart
for The Hub Graphic Corp. NYC

Special thanks to Christopher Kissel

Enjoy these and other Vee-Jay Recordings:

Jerry Butler, The Iceman. NVD2-700

Dee Clark, Rain Drops, NVD2-703

Betty Everett, The Shoop Shoop Song, NVD2-707

* Original Single release number
t Original Album release number
ft Highest Billboard position as indicated

SPECIAL DELUXE COLLECTION

Includes additional selections
previously available only by
single releases.

NVD2-712 PRINTED IN U.S.A.

NVD2-71 2 GENE CHANDLER - “The Duke Of Earl” Vee-Jay

GENE CHANDLER

“The Duke Of Earl”

The Beatles and the Four Seasons notwithstanding,
the biggest hit record the Vee-jay label ever had
would have to be “Duke Of Earl” by Gene Chandler.
It reached number one on both the pop and R&B
national charts. In 1962, it was impossible to walk
down the halls of any high school in America without
hearing “Duke-duke-duke, Duke of Earl” ringing
through the hallways. I recall the Bronx vocal group,
the Earls, using the riff in their night club act to enter
from the wings to the stage.

Then we would turn on American Bandstand and
see this guy, dressed up in this lame outfit — top
hat, white tie, tails and a monocle — and the coolest
song in the world changed, in our eyes, into trite
novelty exploitation. Imagine how poor Gene must
have felt in that getup.

For us teenagers, it was enough to keep us from
buying his next few follow-ups, although history
shows that it is usually difficult to follow a hit of the
magnitude of “Duke Of Earl” with any degree of
success.

Gene Chandler was born Eugene Dixon in Chicago
on July 7, 1937 and grew up a half block from the
famed Regal Theater, the top venue for the
presentation of black entertainment in the mid-west.
His father was a steel worker and his mother owned
a neighborhood beauty parlor.

At Englewood High School, he formed a vocal
group called the Gaytones and later, switched to
one called the Dukays at the barber shop where
they rehearsed. A Mr. Cooper, who ran the shop,
named the group, which consisted of founder Earl
Edwards, Ben Broyles, James Lowe and new
member Eugene Dixon. Before long, Uncle Sam
tapped Eugene for service in the U.S. Army, where
he was to serve with the famed 101st Airborne in
Germany. He also put in some time with the Special
Services, where he kept up his singing.

After his discharge in 1960, Eugene rejoined the
Dukays, bringing in his cousin, Shirley Jones, to add
a little spice to the act. Local songwriter, Bernice
Williams, came up with some material and helped
groom the group. Promoter Bill “Bunky” Sheppard
and Carl Davis had recently formed Pam
Productions and Bernice brought the Dukays to
them. The result was two releases on the Nat label
consisting of four of Williams’ tunes, three of which
appear here in versions re-recorded for Vee-Jay:
“Nite Owl’” ‘The Big Lie” and “Festival Of Love.” The
fourth, “Nite Owl,” was the Dukays’ second Nat
single.

As the group was rehearsing “Nite Owl,” Davis
overheard them doing a warm-up riff, “Duke-duke-
duke, Duke of Earl,” and asked what it was.
Although the story differs from here, depending on

who you talk to, basically Carl had Bernice and the
group come up with some lyrics and they went on to
cut the tune on the “Nite Owl” session.

After playing the whole session for their distributor,
who chose “Nite Owl” for release, Sheppard and
Davis played “Duke Of Earl” for Vee-jay’s Calvin
Carter, who flipped for it. The minor hurdle of whose
name was to appear on record labels was crossed
by simply renaming Dixon “Gene Chandler,” thus
avoiding any potential contractual problems.

After the monumental success of “Duke Of Earl,” the
Dukays, who sang on that record, went on to make
a few more records, for Vee-Jay and Jerry-O, before
breaking up. Earl Edwards, however, as co-writer of
“Duke Of Earl,” did just fine for himself.

Now, it was time to start thinking about a follow-up.
The first, “Walk On With The Duke,” was too
contrived, especially in light of a spate of answer
records like “Duchess Of Earl,” the Pearlettes and “I
Out-Duked The Duke” by Little Otis.

“You Left Me” and “Miracle After Miracle,” both
issued as by the Duke Of Earl, flopped. Finally,
Gene’s answer to Mary Wells’ ‘You Beat Me To The
Punch,” ‘You Threw A Lucky Punch” (additional lyric
by the great Don Covay), made it to the middle of
the charts at the end of 1962.

The record’s B-side, the Curtis Mayfield -penned
“Rainbow,” also charted, showing R&B audiences
that Gene was more than a novelty act and opening
him up as a contemporary soul artist. Unfortunately,
“Check Yourself” did not keep up the momentum,

but another Mayfield item, “Man’s Temptation,”
backed by the Impressions, set the stage for
Chandler’s next career stage, a stage which was,
also unfortunately, not to benefit Vee-Jay.

In Mid-1963, Vee-Jay president Ewart Abner was
fired. He and Bill Sheppard, along with Abner’s
former employer at Chance Records, Art Sheridan,
formed Constellation Records, bringing with them
Dee Clark and Gene Chandler. While Dee’s hit
making days were over by this time, Gene really hit
his stride during this period, making the best records
of his career, several written by Curtis and produced
by Carl Davis, who was becoming the master of
Chicago soul.

Who can forget “Just Be True,” “Bless Our Love,”
“What Now,” “You Can’t Hurt Me No More” and
“Nothing Can Stop Me,” not to mention his spirited
live version of “Rainbow ‘65.”

Mismanagement and extravagance doomed
Constellation from the start, but nothing could stop
Gene, and he went on to have hit after hit for
another decade, both as a vocalist and as a
producer/label owner (Mr. Chand and Bamboo,
which had “Backfield In Motion” by Mel & Tim).

This CD covers Gene’s early years, including the
long-lost stereo version of his “Duke Of Earl” album
and his other hits for Vee-Jay outlining his artistic
growth from doo-wop novelty singer to soul man
extraordinaire.

Billy Vera, 1993

GENE CHANDLER - “The Duke Of Earl”

1. DUKE OF EARL 2:26

(Williams-Dixon-Edwards)

Vee-Jay 416, LP 1040, Billboard #1 R&B, #1 pop

2. STAND BY ME 2:23

(King- Leiber- Stroller)

Vee-Jay LP 1040

3 FESTIVAL OF LOVE 2:27

(B. Williams)

Vee-Jay LP 1040

4. DADDY’S HOME 2:32

(Sheppard- Bassett- Baskerville)

Vee-Jay 450, LP1040

5. I WAKE UP CRYING 2:35

(Bacharach- David)

Vee-Jay LP 1040

6. TURN ON YOUR LOVE LIGHT 2:17

(Malone-Scott)

Vee-Jay LP 1040

7. NITE OWL 2:25

(B. Williams)

Vee-Jay LP 1040

8. I’LL FOLLOW YOU 2:23

(Turk-Alhert)

Vee-Jay 455, LP1040

9. THE BIG LIE 2:32

(B. Williams)

Vee-Jay 450, LP1040

10. KISSIN IN THE KITCHEN 2:25

(B. Williams)

Vee-Jay 416, LP1040

11. SO MANY WAYS 2:40

(B. Stevenson)

Vee-Jay LP 1040

12. LONELY ISLAND 1:45

(Ahbez)

Vee-Jay LP 1040

13. WALK ON WITH THE DUKE 2:03
(Finzlo-Pirollo-Spano-Nahan-Pesta-Carter)
Vee-Jay 440

14. LONDON TOWN 2:28

Vee-Jay 440

15. YOU LEFT ME 2:17

Vee-Jay 455

16. FORGIVE ME 2:21

Vee-Jay 511

17. RAINBOW 2:23

(C. Mayfield)

Vee-Jay 468, #11 R&B, #71 pop

18. MIRACLE AFTER MIRACLE 2:29

Vee-Jay 461

19. YOU THREW A LUCKY PUNCH 2:34

(W. Robinson-R. White-D. Covay)

Vee-Jay 468, #25 R&B, #49 pop

20. DAY TO DAY 2:35

Previously unissued

21. CHECK YOURSELF 2:51

Vee-Jay 511

22. BABY THAT’S LOVE 2:50

Vee-Jay 536

23. MAN’S TEMPTATION 2:43

(C. Mayfield)

Vee-Jay 536, #17 R&B, #71 pop

TOTAL TIME 57:00

(Hounded to the nearest minute)

For more information write to:
Vee-Jay Limited Partnership

P.0. Box 1500, Radio City Station
New York, NY J 01 01- -1500

© © 1 993 Vee-Jay Limited Partnership. All Rights Reserved
Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.

Original sessions produced by
Bill Sheppard or Calvin Carter

Series supervision by
Billy Vera

Digital transfers and remix by
Gordon Skene

Digital remastering by
Bob Fisher of Digital Domain

Art Direction by

Matthew Eberhart

for The Hub Graphic Corp. NYC

Special thanks to
Christopher Kissel

Enjoy these and other
Vee-Jay Recordings:

Jerry Butler, The Iceman. NVD2-700
Dee Clark, Rain Drops, NVD2-703
Betty Everett, The Shoop Shoop
Song, NVD2-707

Vee-Jay Artists Fund:

Vee-Jay Records in conjunction
with the Rhythm & Blues
Foundation, has established a fund
designated for the support of Vee-
Jay artists. A percentage of the
profits from the sale of Vee-Jay
recordings sold through 800-531 -
4533 will be contributed to the fund
via the R & B Foundation.

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

NVD2-712

GENE CHANDLER

NVD2-712

VEE-JAY

LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
P.O. BOX-1 500
RADIO CITY STATION
NEW YORK, NY 10101-1500

MANUFACTURED
IN THE USA BY
SANYO

LASER PRODUCTS, INC

nc<

COMPACT

DIGITAL AUDIO

THE DUKE OF EARL

ORIGINAL SESSIONS PRODUCED BY

BUNKY SHEPPARD & CALVIN CARTER

SERIES SUPERVISION

BILLY VERA

u»au

rHORIZED DUPL'

'S prohibited.